Tom Reviews The Office: Season 8 Episode 14 "Special Project"
To my deep surprise, I think I've figured out what I've liked about the last few episodes of The Office; and it is a happy Dwight Schrute. I don't know what it is about Dwight being happy that I like, but it makes the episode more pleasant. I enjoyed this team, not because of Dwight cursing the fact that he didn't get the team he wanted, but because at the end of the episode he accepts the team, and is just happy that he is finally being put in a leadership position. It's such a weird change of pace, but the positive aspect of this episode was not the ridiculous thread of Dwight releasing mosquitoes into the office (although I did chuckle at that) but rather seeing Dwight's team actually have ideas for the business project they were going to be working on. I like seeing these characters happy, and I aprove having them actually work on something that captures their interest and forces them to be productive for once.
Another thing I love is Florida Stanley. Apparently all it takes for Stanley to be funnier and more interesting is a change of costume. It's not enough to carry an entire episode, but I would definitely like to see more of happy go lucky Florida Stanley.
The rivalry between Pam and Angela is a good dynamic, and with Jim out of the office for at least an episode or two, I assume that we're going to see more of this. It's nothing we haven't seen before, but it hasn't ever dragged an episode down, so I look forward to seeing more of it.
I hate to say it, but what did drag this episode down a little was Daryl. I am just totally uninterested in his little flirtation with Val. Maybe that makes me a racist, but it just doesn't do anything for me. The whole wool beanie plot about whether that was a romantic gift or not seemed cliche and did not capture my attention in the least.
Is Erin really not coming back? I'm on the fence on whether I want Andy and Erin to end up together, and to be honest I haven't really enjoyed their tension of late, but I think I will enjoy it if they move that plot forward to a resolution.
Alright, so is the Office going to go the cliche route of having Kathy try and seduce Jim only for him to shoot her down, or are they going to go there? If Jim cheats on Pam, I will be pissed, but I will also be interested to see how that resolves. Are the Office writers willing to risk pissing off the fans to get an interesting story? I don't think so; I feel like it goes against the entire fabric of the show. Unfortunately that means that the Kathy plot is going to be awkward without actually making it more interesting since none of us believe that Jim would actually cheat. I think this is a poor choice, that will ultimately end up putting the series into another funk like the one that has plagued the last few seasons. But maybe I'm wrong, and the writers are willing to cross a line. We'll just have to watch and find out!
Rating: 8 out of 10
This was a good episode that also helped to move the plot along. I'm not sure exactly what it's moving towards, but I'm glad that it's moving. I want to see these characters go through some sort of radical transformation to end the series. I want to feel like this series has told one overarching story, like the British series did. I hope it does, and episodes like these inspire me to believe it can.
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